Svetla Dimitrova 9 April 2014

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) launched on April 4th a global online campaign, "30 Days for Freedom", to highlight the plight of imprisoned journalists across the world

"In the 30-day lead up to 3 May World Press Freedom Day, we will be publishing daily profiles of imprisoned journalists and encouraging members to share information about their cases across digital networks and social media platforms," the organization said as it announced the initiative. "Using the hashtag #FreethePress, we aim to create a Twitter campaign that has global impact."

The first day of the campaign focused on the case of Turkish journalist Füsun Erdoğan, who worked for Özgür Radyo (Radio Free) until September 2006, when she was arrested by plainclothes police on a street in the city of Izmir.

"Two years later she found out she was accused of being a member of the outlawed Marxist-Leninist Communist Party", WAN-IFRA said, adding that the journalist remained confined to a prison cell as the trial dragged on for another five years. Erdoğan "was finally convicted in early November 2013 - along with three other journalists - to life in prison without parole, plus 300 years."

As it published her case on April 4th, WAN-IFRA also sent a letter to Turkish President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, calling "for the release of Füsun Erdoğan, and all other journalists imprisoned in Turkey for simply doing their job". 

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), in 2013, there were a total of 211 journalists in prison, with roughly half of them serving different jail terms in only three of all 30 countries on the list. EU candidate Turkey was the country with the largest number of imprisoned journalists, with a total of 40, followed by Iran and China, with 35 and 32, respectively.

The only EU member state featuring on CPT's list for last year is Italy, in connection with Francesco Gangemi's case. Macedonia was the second EU candidate country, after Turkey, to join the group following Tomsilav Kezarovski's sentencing by a court in Skopje.

WAN-IFRA urges people "to Tweet protest letters to relevant heads of state and widely share information about our selection of imprisoned journalists," hoping that this will help "raise global awareness around the individuals who have been sent to jail simply for doing their jobs".

The final day of its campaign will focus on the case of Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega, WAN-IFRA's 2014 Golden Pen of Freedom laureate.

 

This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso and its partners and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. The project's page: Safety Net for European Journalists.A Transnational Support Network for Media Freedom in Italy and South-east Europe.